Political Filmmaking vs Film is Political
Written for my Film & Society class we were to pick any two films we had watched in class and analyze them using the quotes from Godard and Walsh.
“A political film is not a film about politics, but a film made politically.”-----Jean-Luc Godard
“A work of art can only be radical if its structure is as subversive of conventional forms as its content is critical of dominant ideology.”-----Martin Walsh
Boyz N the Hood defies the Brechtian notion of filmmaking by leaning in heavily on the neorealism style. The purpose in doing such is to relay the deep political themes from within the film to the broader society it is reaching. As opposed to challenging traditional cinematic forms and creating a clear line of division between reality and film reality, John Singleton chose to embrace realism. This choice is active throughout the film as it turns slice-of-life moments into events that portray the disparaging oppression that Black communities and families face in America. Bertolt Brecht argues for the narrative and argument to force the viewer to make decisions and to be active within the story-world (37). This film chooses to not do that. Instead, Boyz N the Hood disengages the audience from making choices. The characters within this film take actions and have opinions that the audience is entirely separate from. An example of this is at minute marker 1:26:00 when Ricky gets shot. At no point does the audience get the ability to decide whether Ricky, Tre, or Doughboy are making the right choices. Before the audience is fully aware of what can happen, it happens. It is as shocking for the audience as it is for Tre to see Ricky get shot and murdered. Where Brechtian cinema wants the audience to closely study the characters, Boyz N the Hood requires that the audience share the experience with the characters.
Similarly, this film never seeks to be political, but it is because being Black in America is political. By not subverting conventional forms of cinema the viewers are forced to reckon with this fact during the film. This film embraces the Jean-Luc Godard quote and challenges the base premise of the Martin Walsh quote. Boyz N the Hood is radical despite being conventional. The current hegemonic norms of society rule that simply being a minority challenges the safety of whiteness; a Black man from a struggling Black community trying to better himself is a challenge to the safety of whiteness. This film also manages to challenge the safety of womanhood. Women are never safe, but according to the hegemonic norms present in society, they are never in danger around white men. Women in media are put on pedestals to endanger real women who could never live up to those standards. White women are then able to weaponize this victimhood and use it against people of color. The women in this film are props for the men in their lives similar to all other films. However, when these Black women refuse to be props, they are anchors. The women who dare to challenge their status are villainized. In the same sense that white people oppress and cause harm, the men in this film do the same to women. The misogynoir within Boyz N the Hood exists to bear truth to how societal oppression seeps through and the ultimate victim is the Black woman.
Do the Right Thing, on the other hand, embraces the Brechtian notions of cinema. It doubles down on subverting the classical Hollywood approach to film. The very title of the film forces the audience to engage critically with the actions of the characters. The film title makes a statement and asks the audience to apply that statement to a character’s actions at some point during it. As the actions of the characters are studied the audience disengages emotionally but becomes ultra-aware of the political significance taking place within this film. The world within Do the Right Thing manages to feel like a real community despite not having a neorealistic approach. The music within this film is very Brechtian. “For the music, the change of emphasis proved to be as follows: epic opera, the music communicates…” (Brecht 38). In Do the Right Thing the music communicates ideas and beliefs from the characters to the audience. The music is so prevalent that several characters are entirely tethered to its existence. This film is made with a very clear political message and the characters even break the fourth wall and speak directly about race in a very political manner. The way the different racial groups within this community interact reflects the stereotypes they hold in their head. Do the Right Thing challenges the Godard quote because Spike Lee allows this film to be political in its messaging rather than in how it is made.
Subsequently, this film seeks to subvert as many of the conventional forms as it can. Brecht provides an outline of how to do this and Lee follows. The structure of the narrative within Do the Right Thing separates the scenes into events and moments that are less involved with one another. The audience only has to study and observe the characters in this film rather than engage emotionally with them. Do the Right Thing challenges the Godard quote but embraces the Walsh quote by being a subversive film made with political intention. The Walsh standard and the Brechtian mode of filmmaking go hand in hand. They want the epic and political nature of a film to occur naturally but outside of the confines of typical filmmaking standards. They believe that these conventional forms are ineffective and misguided in messaging. Lee is able to have clear and effective messaging by abiding by their modes of filmmaking. A clear example of this is within Radio Raheem’s story of love and hate at minute marker 50:00. Radio Raheem is cued into the segment with his signature boombox and the song "Fight the Power", a clear message to the audience. In this segment, he breaks the fourth wall and engages with the audience. The audience is meant to ponder his words and their meaning until the story is impacted by his death. In this scene alone it is clear that Lee is choosing to subvert the expected nature of cinematic filmmaking and is embracing these Brechtian ideas so that the ultimate message of this film is as impactful as possible.
Both films are political but they greatly vary in how they achieve this political nature. Where Do the Right Thing embraces everything Brechtian and subverts classical Hollywood cinema at every possible turn, Boyz N the Hood seeks to reject Brecht and embraces all traditional cinematic forms. Singleton enveloped his film in a sense of reality and made the film politically. He engaged the audience with the emotions of the characters and disengaged the audience from forming opinions. Lee chose to subvert all notions of the conventional form of filmmaking while also making a film about politics. He wants the audience to make active choices during the film but to only observe the characters as opposed to empathizing with them. These films make clear that both Godard and Walsh are as correct as they are incorrect. A film does not have to subvert traditional filmmaking to be political. Nor does a film have to be made politically to classify as a political film. These films are opposite sides of the same coin. They both show racial injustice perpetrated onto Black communities in America, but they do it in opposite ways with the same effectiveness.